Coming last to the ordinary inscriptions on the tombstones and headstones of our churchyards, one of the first things that strikes an observer is the large number of cases where, though the stone remains, the inscription is wholly or partly weathered off and lost; such cases are an occasion of woe to the genealogist. In looking through a country churchyard it will often be found that 10 per cent. of the stones are unreadable. This is generally because a soft and unsuitable stone has been used. Some slate-stones stand well; limestones and marbles only last while they are in a church, rain and slight traces of acid in the atmosphere soon disintegrate them out of doors. Granite will probably endure very long, but it has been little used in Durham churchyards, and only since about 1860. Sandstones are most generally used, and some of these, of a close-grain and of a dark colour when old, stand exceedingly well. The fell sandstones, or hassells, used in the west of the county, are almost as hard as granite. They are very difficult to cut, so the lettering on them is often quite shallow; but stones 200 years old are quite unaffected by weather. Soft sandstones, which are easily cut, either crumble and decay gradually, or in some cases they scale off in flakes and perish very quickly. It is common to see two stones of about the same date, standing side by side, one of which is sound and clear, while the other cannot be read. Frequently one finds a stone where, owing to differences of hardness, one part of the inscription is sharp and legible, while other parts are completely gone. Along the parishes on the coast of the county the wanderer cannot fail to be struck with the constant repetition of the words, "Lost at sea," and if he should turn to the registers of these parishes and read the many entries like, "A woman at ye sea side found drowned," "A man cast upon our sands by the sea," "Foure Duchmen wth a woman and a childe being drowned by shipwrack were buried in this Churchyard," he will learn what a heavy tithe the sea takes from the land, and how high is the price that man pays for the sovereignty of the sea. Punning epitaphs are, fortunately, not numerous in the county. Here is one, from Stockton, to the memory of two masons, "Ralph Wood, who departed this life Oct. 22, 1730, in the 67th year of his age. Here lieth the Body of Ralph Wood, aged 67, 1743. "We that have made tombs for others, Now here we lie; Once we were two flourishing Woods, But now we die." THE CASTLES AND HALLS OF DURHAM BY HENRY R. LEIGHTON Although the county of Durham is not studded with castles and peels like its northern neighbour, nor decked with many ancient homes in a still picturesque and habitable condition, like the moors and valleys of York, it is still fairly rich in buildings of historic and antiquarian interest.